Xigmatek Battle-Axe: First Direct-Touch Heatpipe VGA Cooler

The Battle-Axe is a large, dual fan cooler which takes up three extra slots,
one for the heatsink itself and two for the 25mm thick fans. It is
only slightly wider than a standard, full-sized video card, so it should
fit in narrower cases.

In profile.

The Battle-Axe gets its name from the design of the metallic fan casing.
The metal frame is secured to the fans using four screws a piece, and
the fans in-turn are mounted to the heatsink at their extremities using
rubber fan isolators.

The underside in profile.

At first glance, the underside of the Battle-Axe seemed fairly pedestrian
until we noticed that a good portion of the heatsink's fins are closed.
The airflow generated by the two fans blowing down on these sections won't
go all the way through and instead will be diverted to the sides. A through-and-through
design no doubt would work much better, especially with low airflow.

The base.

The base is typical of Xigmatek's direct touch coolers. The heatpipes at
the base have been flattened smooth but there are shallow groves where they
meet the mounting plate.